It is well known in the prior art of firearm maintenance to clean the bore of a barrel of an explosive-fired weapon periodically to remove undesirable residues of gunpowder, copper, and/or lead that can corrode the bore or otherwise impede operation of the firearm. Common firearms used in the military, law enforcement, hunting and sport shooting include various types of pistols, handguns, shotguns, bolt action and semi-automatic rifles, assault rifles, machine guns, and grenade launchers, referred to herein collectively as “firearms.” Typically, a patch or swab of flexible material such as a cloth is inserted into a slotted tip or folded over a tip of a plug having a fixed diameter designed to apply to a relatively narrow range of weapon calibers. See, e.g., U.S. Pat. No. 4,716,673 (FIGS. 8a-8e), and U.S. Pat. No. 7,356,961 (FIGS. 1 and 1a). Because of the varying diameters of the bores of barrels on different types of weapons, a universal kit comprising a plurality of sizes of tips or plugs for supporting a swab is required to engage and clean the range of bores. Examples of such prior art kits are Shotgun Cleaning System SKU No. FG-410 BX and Deluxe Pistol/Rifle Cleaning System SKU No. FG-610 BX, both available from Otis Technology, Lyons Falls, N.Y., USA.